Traditionally, a female connector can receive a male connector to form an electrical connection. A shorting bar, which is typically a flexible metal strip, is connected to a housing of the female connector. The shorting bar can short two or more electrical terminals to thereby equalize the electrical potential therebetween.
A portion of the shorting bar can be configured like a spring such that in its relaxed condition, the shorting bar lays on the terminals. By lying on the terminals, the shorting bar can electrically connect (i.e., short) the terminals to one another. When the male connector is inserted into the female connector, the male connector can bend the shorting bar up toward the housing to break the electrical connection between the terminals (i.e., remove the short). It will be appreciated that the shorting bar remains bent toward the housing (i.e., against a bias of the spring) while the female and the male connectors are mated.
Typically, the connectors are mated throughout the duration of their functional life. When the female and the male connectors are unmated after being connected for a relatively long period of time, the shorting bar can remain in a deflected condition (e.g., bent up toward the housing) due to memory of the material of which the shorting bar is made. If the shorting bar remains in the deflected condition, the shorting bar will no longer short the terminals of the female connector.